Outback Steakhouse Keto Options: Ultimate Guide to Low-Carb Menu Choices

For those following a ketogenic diet, dining out can present a challenge. Many restaurants offer menus filled with carb-heavy dishes that make sticking to a low-carb, high-fat lifestyle difficult. However, Outback Steakhouse stands out as a surprisingly keto-friendly option. With its focus on steaks, seafood, and other protein-rich dishes, Outback provides a variety of choices that can be easily adapted to fit a keto diet.

Why Outback Steakhouse is a Good Choice for Keto Dieters

Outback Steakhouse is a utopia for anyone on the ketogenic diet who wants to go out to eat. Matter of fact, it’s one of the best places to eat if you’re on the keto diet because their menu is rich in steak, burgers, fish and even king crab and lobster tails (YUMM). A steakhouse is probably going to be a good choice, and such is the case with Outback. While this popular restaurant offers numerous keto options, not every entree on the Outback Steakhouse menu fits the description.

Keto-Friendly Appetizers

It’s very easy to blow a low-carb meal on an appetizer or soup that you don’t need. Stick with a salad sans croutons. Ordering a side salad first gives you something to munch on while the rest of your table indulges in something unhealthy. It also gives you a good opportunity to get more greens in your diet. Or, try the Kookaburra wings (Small - any level of spice).

Navigating the Outback Steakhouse Menu for Keto

While Outback Steakhouse offers numerous keto options, not every item on the menu is suitable for a ketogenic diet. Dishes like burgers or sandwiches with bread buns, breaded fried chicken, and pasta-based entrees are high in carbohydrates and should be avoided. Fortunately, the seafood entrees and steaks generally have fewer than 5 grams of carbohydrates, with the exception of the Filet Sheila, which contains 14 grams due to its fried carrot topping.

Low-Carb Steak Options

Ordering steak at a steakhouse seems like a no-brainer, but you’ll want to be careful with added sauces if you’re trying to keep it low-carb.

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*Consider splitting larger portions into multiple meals to avoid high calories and high protein counts. We recommend going with one of Outback’s many steak options and asking to keep your meat dry by holding all sauces. Outback should be able to dry rub your steak with lots of flavorful herbs and spices in place of sugar-laden sauces. Bonus tip: get these steaks topped with roasted garlic butter and sauteed mushrooms for added flavor.

Keto-Friendly Main Courses

You’ll want to avoid the sides like mashed potatoes or fries and sub for a salad or steamed broccoli instead.The Pork Porterhouse, Alice Springs Chicken and Bacon Bourbon Chicken are all great choices, but because they have such high amounts of protein, you may want to consider taking some home for tomorrow’s lunch.*The Grilled Alaskan Halibut gets most of its carbs from the veggies. So, if you leave out things like carrots and onions, your carb count will be much lower.

Keto-Friendly Sides

Unfortunately, most Outback Steakhouse sides are decidedly keto-unfriendly. The rice, potatoes, and mac and cheese are high in carbohydrates and should be avoided. However, the plain steamed vegetables and asparagus are good choices. If you're looking for more variety, you can opt for a side salad, but be sure to pick out the croutons or request that they be withheld.

Low-Carb Dressings

*Calorie count depends on your dressing choice

Keto-Friendly Main Course Salads

Adding Ahi Tuna, Salmon or Grilled Chicken to any of these won’t add any carbs. You can add shrimp for a whopping 2 extra carbs. Don’t forget to ask for your salad without croutons!

Desserts and Beverages

As far as desserts go, it's best to avoid them altogether, as most are high in sugar and carbohydrates. The same goes for beverages other than water (plain or sparkling), diet soda, unsweetened tea, or coffee. If you've kept your carb count low throughout your meal and you're not the designated driver, you might consider a single glass of dry wine.

Tips for Ordering Keto at Outback Steakhouse

Enjoy this post? All you have to do is avoid things like that Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and all the other carb-loaded sides and you’ll be singing Outback praises all night long. There are still a few things you need to know to avoid sneaky ingredients making it onto your plate and accidentally sabotaging your low-carb diet.

Request no sauces or glazes: Many of Outback's dishes come with sauces or glazes that can be high in sugar and carbohydrates. Ask for your meal to be prepared without these additions to keep the carb count low. No matter what meat-based dish you order at Outback, be sure to ask for it dry to avoid sugar-laden sauces that could accidentally sabotage your low-carb diet.
Substitute sides: Entrees at Outback Steakhouse are typically served with a choice of sides. Replace high-carb options like potatoes, rice, and mac and cheese with keto-friendly alternatives like steamed vegetables, asparagus, or a side salad without croutons. You can also get a bunless and sauceless burger and pair it with a side house salad minus the croutons.
Customize your salad: Outback offers several salad options, including a Caesar salad and a steak salad. You’ll want to make sure you order a low-carb dressing. You can also ask for olive oil and vinegar as your dressing. Lemon wedges work well, too. When ordering a salad, be sure to request a low-carb dressing or opt for olive oil and vinegar.
Watch your portion sizes: Portion sizes at Outback can be quite large. To avoid overeating, consider splitting a meal with a dining companion or taking half of your entree home for leftovers. Keep your portion sizes small and go with a meal that fits your macronutrient needs so you don’t walk out of there feeling worse than you did when you came in.

Keto-Friendly Choices at Other Restaurants

If you go on the low carb, high fat keto diet, you may think you need to give up eating out. Indeed, it can be tricky to find keto-friendly options other than bunless burgers and grilled chicken salads. Still, you can use the menu options in this guide to make keto-friendly choices at other restaurants, too.

Jimmy John’s: Jimmy John’s is a popular sandwich shop offering a variety of sub sandwiches and wraps, plus chips, pickles, and cookies. You can make any one of their subs an “Unwich,” replacing the bread with a lettuce wrap to shave off most of the carbs and a significant number of calories.
Chipotle: Chipotle offers a build-your-own Tex Mex experience featuring fresh, high quality ingredients. You can make salads, bowls, tacos, or burritos featuring a variety of meats, veggies, and other toppings. To keep your meal keto, choose a bowl or salad and load it up with low carb ingredients like meat, veggies, cheese, guacamole, and salsa. Alternatively, order a Keto Salad Bowl - which contains either chicken or steak with lettuce, salsa, cheese, and guac.
Wendy’s: Wendy’s is a nationwide fast food restaurant offering burgers, chicken, salads, and chili. Although this chain doesn’t have a dedicated keto menu, you can modify any of their burgers or salads to be keto-friendly. Ask to modify your order along these lines: Burgers: no bun, ketchup, onions, or barbecue sauce Salads: with grilled chicken and a creamy salad dressing like ranch - and be sure to skip the croutons If you get a burger, you can also choose a side salad instead of fries.
El Pollo Loco: El Pollo Loco is a Tex Mex fast food restaurant specializing in flame-grilled chicken tacos, burritos, salads, and burrito bowls. The Pollo Fit Menu features three keto-friendly menu items: the Double Chicken Avocado Salad the Double Protein Avocado Pollo Fit Bowl the World’s First Keto Burrito
Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is a popular chicken restaurant known for its chicken sandwiches, nuggets, strips, and waffle fries. It also offers wraps and salads featuring fried or grilled chicken. Chick-fil-A offers a surprising selection of keto items, including grilled nuggets, which you can make a combo with a Side Salad or a Kale Crunch Side. With a few modifications - like choosing grilled chicken and asking for no corn - its Cobb Salad is keto-friendly as well.
In-N-Out: In N Out is a popular West Coast chain offering burgers, fries, and milkshakes. The company’s “Not So Secret Menu” includes an easy way to make any burger keto-friendly by ordering it “Protein Style” - meaning it comes wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun.
Popeye’s: Popeye’s is a Louisiana-based fried chicken spot that makes fried chicken, seafood, and sides with a Cajun twist. Although most menu items aren’t keto-friendly, it’s possible to make a low carb meal of their Blackened Tenders (which aren’t breaded) and green beans.
Slim Chickens: Slim Chickens is a fast food chicken restaurant featuring chicken strips, wings, sandwiches, and a variety of Southern-style sides like coleslaw and fried mushrooms. The vast majority of its menu items are high in carbs, but its side salads, grilled chicken strips, and chicken wings are low carb.
Qdoba: Qdoba is a fast food chain that, much like Chipotle, offers Mexican-style burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads with a variety of fresh ingredients. Its Smoked Brisket Keto Bowl is a great option, but you can also make your own keto-friendly bowl or salad using any available meats, cheese, salsas, and veggies. Plus, Qdoba offers low carb Mexican Cauliflower Mash as a substitute for rice.
Noodles & Company: Noodles & Company serves a variety of pasta and noodle dishes from around the world, from homestyle macaroni and cheese to shrimp scampi to udon noodles. The company offers zucchini noodles, too, so several of its dishes can be customized for keto.
Olive Garden: Olive Garden is a popular Italian American chain. While its dishes are often carb-heavy, you can always ask to replace the pasta with a large portion of broccoli beneath the sauce and protein. Olive Garden’s salad with no croutons is also keto-friendly, as are a few other dishes.
BurgerFi: BurgerFi offers burgers and fries, but it’s a bit more upscale than your everyday fast food experience.
BD’s Mongolian Grill: BD’s Mongolian Grill is a chain of Asian restaurants based on the Mongolian BBQ concept in which you choose the ingredients you want and the cooks prepare a custom stir-fry for you. This process makes it super easy to skip the carbs. BD’s offers a variety of meats, seafood, and veggies for your stir-fry. Just skip the noodles, rice, corn, beans, meatballs, and brown sugar pork.
The Cheesecake Factory: While the Cheesecake Factory is known for its massive selection of cheesecakes, it also boasts a huge menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner selections. The best keto choices at the Cheesecake Factory require some customization, such as a Glamburger with no bun or a build-your-own omelet with all keto-friendly fillings like cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and spinach. However, you can also order its SkinnyLicious Grilled Salmon entrée as is.
Buffalo Wild Wings: Buffalo Wild Wings is a casual sports bar chain that serves up wings, burgers, appetizers, sandwiches, and wraps. The best keto option is the traditional wings, which are carb-free when plain. The dry seasonings contain just 1 carb each for a 6-piece wing order.
BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse: BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse is a sit-down restaurant with an attached bar that serves pizzas, burgers, salads, and other classic American entrées. Its menu features a variety of veggies and proteins, making it easy to customize a keto-friendly meal. For example, its Tri-Tip Wedge salad features lettuce, sliced sirloin, BBQ sauce, bacon, blue cheese, onions, tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and chimichurri sauce. As is, the Tri-Tip Wedge contains 1,300 calories, so it’s perfect for sharing - or saving half for leftovers (15).
Joe’s Crab Shack: Joe’s Crab Shack is a casual seafood restaurant specializing in shrimp and crab. As long as you avoid fried items, you can enjoy nearly any of this chain’s seafood options. For instance, Joe’s Classic Steampot comes with Dungeness crab, sweet snow crab, shrimp, and smoked sausage. Skip the corn and potatoes to make it keto-friendly. Additionally, Joe’s offers more traditional options like broiled fish, steaks, grilled chicken, and side salads.
On the Border: On the Border is a popular Tex Mex restaurant offering a variety of Mexican-style entrées. Its fajitas are a solid option for people on keto. You can choose from several meats and meat combinations - just skip the tortillas, beans, and rice, and instead eat the fajita mix and salad as the entrée itself.
Chili’s: Chili’s is a casual restaurant offering a mix of Tex Mex and American appetizers and entrées. Several of its menu items are keto-friendly with few modifications needed. You can choose bunless burgers, steak, grilled chicken, grilled fish, entrée salads made with grilled meat and no croutons, or fajitas with no tortillas or sides. For a simple order with no modifications necessary, see the dish in the box below.
Outback Steakhouse: Outback Steakhouse is an Australian-themed steakhouse with franchises across the United States. It’s very easy to go keto at Outback if you stick to a grilled entrée with non-starchy sides. Just make sure that no sugary glazes or sauces come with your dish. Outback also offers entrée salads that can be made keto-friendly with some modifications.
Red Lobster: steakhouse chain. It offers several keto options like steaks, grilled salmon, pork chops, and salads. Make sure your entrée doesn’t have any sugary glazes, barbecue sauce, or breading. Keto-friendly sides include Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and broccoli.
Texas Roadhouse: Texas Roadhouse is a Texas-themed chain with traditional steakhouse fare. To stay keto at Texas Roadhouse, stick to steak, chicken, salmon, bunless burgers, and salads. Its keto-friendly sides include sautéed mushrooms, house salads, and green beans.
Colton’s Steakhouse: Colton’s Steakhouse is a chain steakhouse operating in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Like most steakhouses, it offers steaks, chicken, burgers, ribs, and appetizers. My favorite dish at Colton’s - Colton’s Loaded Chicken - is very keto-friendly. This grilled chicken breast is topped with sautéed mushrooms, bacon, green onions, and cheese. You can get a side of house or Caesar salad with no croutons, steamed vegetables, green beans, grilled asparagus, or sautéed mushrooms to keep the carbs low. Colton’s Loaded Chicken with no sides or extra dipping sauce is 620 calories, but other nutrition information isn’t available (21).
Saltgrass Steakhouse: Saltgrass Steakhouse is a high end steakhouse with locations in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. It offers a wide variety of steaks, seafood, salads, and other traditional steakhouse meals. As is the case with most steakhouses, it’s easy to stay keto here. In fact, you can order the Bacon Wrap Filet & Grilled Shrimp for an extremely low carb and protein-rich entrée, then add asparagus or broccoli as a side - plus a salad without croutons.
IHOP: IHOP is a popular diner with locations all across the United States. It serves pancakes, crepes, and other breakfast foods alongside a small lunch and dinner menu. Although known for its pancakes, IHOP makes excellent low carb omelets that are ideal for keto.
Denny’s: Denny’s is another nationwide diner chain. It offers burgers, sandwiches, traditional American entrées, and a large menu of breakfast foods. Keto options are available, but you’ll have to make modifications.
Blaze Pizza: Blaze Pizza is a popular chain offering custom pizzas with high end ingredients and unique flavors. Its Keto Pizza comes on a gluten-free, keto-friendly crust with spicy red sauce, mozzarella, bacon, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Alternatively, you can choose any sauces, cheeses, or toppings you want on the keto crust.
Marco’s Pizza: Marco’s Pizza is a nationwide pizza delivery chain that offers a wide selection of specialty pizzas, subs, and salads. It also offers Pizza Bowls, which feature all of the sauce, cheese, and toppings you like on your pizza - but without the crust.
Texas de Brazil: Texas de Brazil is a popular Brazilian steakhouse. Brazilian steakhouses offer a unique dining experience in which you can enjoy a salad bar, several side dishes, and unlimited amounts of meat carved right at your table. Some of the keto-friendly items on the Texas de Brazil menu include herb-marinated pork loin, filet mignon, chicken breast wrapped in bacon, and a variety of cheeses and vegetables. Many of its meats, cheeses, and salad dressings contain 0 carbs, so it should be easy to stay keto at Texas de Brazil (25).
Golden Corral: Golden Corral is a traditional buffet offering stations with several rotating menu items. As such, this chain features numerous keto-friendly options, including salad, sirloin steak, roasted turkey, baked fish, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

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